Mobile irrigation systems such as conventional pivot-move and lateral-move systems typically incorporate truss-span assemblies which mount sprinkler heads spaced along the truss span for irrigating relatively large areas of land. The sprinkler heads may be mounted on top of the truss-span in a normal upright position, or they may be inverted and suspended from the truss-span by means of drop tubes or the like.
Because of the large number of sprinkling heads utilized in a conventional pivot-move or lateral-move irrigation system, and because of the remote locations of such systems, it is important to be able to replace, and/or repair sprinkler heads simply, quickly and efficiently. The assignee currently manufactures modular spray heads which include a sprinkler body adapted to accept interchangeable nozzles and spray plates. In commonly-owned U.S. Pat. No. 5,415,348, for example, a modular sprinkler assembly is disclosed which incorporates an easily identifiable and changeable nozzle sandwiched between the sprinkler body and a hose adapter. Changing the nozzle, however, requires disassembly of the sprinkler. In commonly-owned U.S. Pat. No. 5,762,269, there is disclosed a sprinkler incorporating a nozzle clip that holds a second alternatively useable nozzle laterally adjacent to a first installed nozzle. The clip is manually reversible such that the first and second nozzles are selectively interchangeable.
There remains a need, however, for the sprinkler device that incorporates a number of selectively useable nozzles of varying orifice size, and wherein the nozzles may be changed automatically on site or from remote locations.